Narendra Modi needs to win over low-income Indians
They are dissatisfied with their share of the country’s growth
DURGA PRASAD YADAV used to be a big fan of Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “Back in 2014 they promised jobs and development. I thought they would improve things for ordinary people,” says the 36-year-old farmer from a village near Ayodhya in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). In January Mr Modi inaugurated a new temple in the city on the site of a mosque that was demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992. The project has been accompanied by a big development drive. Yet Mr Yadav says local people like him have seen little improvement in their day-to-day lives. “All the development around here has meant loss for the people of Ayodhya,” says Mr Yadav. “Only outsiders have benefited.” He is not especially fond of the opposition. But in the national election that ended in early June, he voted for them anyway.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Left wanting”
From the June 29th 2024 edition
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